Wondrous Words Wednesday: St. Patrick's Day Edition

Saint Patrick was a gentleman,
Who through strategy and stealth,
Drove all the snakes from Ireland,
Here’s a toasting to his health.
But not too many toastings
Lest you lose yourself and then
Forget the good Saint Patrick
And see all those snakes again.

'Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!'
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Wondrous Words Wednesday, hosted by Kathy from Bermudaonion's Weblog, is one of my favorite memes. This week's meme has an Irish theme.


1. taoiseach: (pronounced tee-shock) Irish word for the head of government, or prime minister. The taoiseach is appointed by the president with the consent of the lower house.

"President Obama is celebrating St. Patrick's Day by welcoming the visiting taoiseach--or prime minister--of Ireland in the Oval Office."
~D.C. Now

2. colleen: an Irish girl, a young unmarried woman

I knew a lot of girls named Colleen in NY while I was growing up, but I didn't know that colleen is the Irish word for girl until I read the novel Becoming Finola by Suzanne Strempek Shea.

3. handfasting: an ancient Celtic custom, once practiced in Ireland and Scotland, where a newly wed couple would have their hands--their wrists, actually--tied together. Today's commonly used expression "tying the knot" as a description of getting married traces back to this early custom. I found this word while reading about Irish customs online.

What wondrous new words have you encountered during recent reading?

Paddy's Day

If you're lucky, you learn something new every day. I didn't know that St. Patrick's Day is also simply called Paddy's Day (which you must admit is quite cute).

Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you.

If you're in the mood for an Irish post rather than an Irish toast, you can read (or reread) the post on Becoming Finola by Suzanne Strempek Shea, a book set in a picturesque town in Ireland. But I warn you, you'll want to plan a trip to Ireland.

Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Becoming Finola

Finally, it's cold enough to wear the scarves I crocheted a few winters ago. After reading The Friday Night Knitting Club and Knit Two by Kate Jacobs, I appreciate my handmade creations more than ever. Though imperfect, they've got a bit of me woven into them, and I love wearing something I've made. But right now I'm wearing something else around my neck. It's a necklace, a pendant, with a small silver charm on it, that I purchased from a new-age catalog while in an optimistic mood. One side of the charm has Sanskrit characters on it, and on the other side is the English translation, "Fearlessness". You may wonder what this has to do with anything. Don't worry, I'll get to the connection soon enough.

I've just read Becoming Finola by author Suzanne Strempek Shea. I decided to read this novel from an author I'd previously never heard of, because my good friend, Eriko, a breast cancer survivor (and one of the most energetic, upbeat people you'll ever meet), told me she'd read Songs From a Lead-Lined Room: Notes--High and Low--From My Journey Through Breast Cancer and Radiation by this author, who's also a breast cancer survivor. Interested in learning more, I searched on the author's website for possibilities, and then looked on amazon for her work. I ordered Becoming Finola, because the premise of this novel--a woman who goes to Ireland and adopts a new identity, that of the legendary Finola O'Flynn--intrigued me. Without giving away too much of the story, here's the basic premise of the book. Sophie, a 30-year-old single American, accompanies her friend, Gina, to the remote, seaside village of Booley in Ireland. Gina has generously paid for the three-month trip for both of them, and has even bought them each a travel wardrobe. Gina has just suffered some recent losses and believes that Booley, rainy and mystical, is the place for healing. But the day after they arrive in Booley, Gina unexpectedly heads back to America, and insists that Sophie remain in Booley, in the cottage of Liam and Finola (who has left). Sophie does stay, blends in with the locals, and begins to work in Liam's craft shop, stringing bracelets which prove to be irresistible to the tourists. She makes one-of-a-kind bracelets with charms and beads, and puts labels on them that say things such as "gratitude" and "life" and "self-esteem". And that's the idea behind the pendant I'm wearing. Even though it doesn't really give me courage (who am I anyway--The Cowardly Lion?) it reminds me to face life fearlessly, or at least more fearlessly. In the book, Sophie a.k.a. Finola invents the powers that the labels on her bracelets suggest, but the wearers believe they are now empowered by the "magic" bracelets from Booley, and therefore, they are. This is the magic of belief. As customers in the shop, mostly tourists, assume that she's Finola, Sophie doesn't correct them and in fact soon adopts Finola's identity as her own. Sophie, who is now known as Finola, receives many letters thanking her for the magical effects of these handmade bracelets. (These letters from the customers are great fun to read!) Sophie realizes she's actually becoming the legendary Finola (whom everyone in the village has a story about), taking over her role in the shop and elsewhere, living in her home, wearing her clothing, and offering new words of wisdom.

While reading this book I had to slow down to appreciate the abundant humor in the author's sentences. I won't spoil the book by telling you more; I'd hate to have to add a "spoiler alert" to this post. But I definitely recommend that you read Becoming Finola and find out what happens. And although I've never really desired to be anyone other than myself, if I had to be someone else, it would be a toss up between Finola O'Flynn and Angelina Jolie.